Sunday 12th February 2006

Scorers:
Thompson 25, Teddy 26, Willers 35, Parsons 50, Mason 65

Half Time 3 - 0

Man of the Match:
Glen Nicholls - an impressive midfield performance full of running and inventiveness making tackle after tackle to break down the oppositions passing game.

Invicta made it 10 wins in a row as they had overcame a clear threat from an in form Addiscombe side who played with a lot of confidence and played the ball around well in very sticky conditions at Swanmead.

Invicta made two changes bringing Holmes and Phillips in for Hermitage and Poore who were both involved in the Reserves fixture the day before. Despite an early opening for Willers, Invicta found themselves playing a containing game in the opening 20 minutes as Addiscombe took the game to the league leaders.

Phillips and Nicholls were very busy in central midfield as were the Invicta backline with Thompson and Leigh working well together. The opening goal came after Nicholls played Willers in down the right and a desperate tackle led to a corner. Mason flighted the ball in and Willers won his header and the ball fell for captain Thompson to finish on 25 mins.

Within a minute it was 2-0 as Teddy once again making some excellent runs down the left and a fine one two with Holmes allowed Teddy to hit a low drive in the far corner for his first goal in over a year. A just reward for his performances in 2006.

Addiscombe were rocked and pushed on to get back in the game and came very close on two occasions with the ball squeezing past the wrong side of the post. Leading scorer Willers was being well marshalled by the away captain and he was having to work hard for any space. On 35 mins, the break came when an excellent pass from Holmes put Willers in behind the defence and after taking on a couple of defenders his left foot strike made it 3-0.

The half time score may have flattered Invicta in terms of possession but when it comes to taking chances Invicta were very clinical.

Parsons replaced Mason and made an early impact by hitting a crucial fourth goal from the edge of the box for his first of the season. Surely this would have dented any hopes Addiscombe had of getting anything from this game, but due credit they pushed three up front and scored twice in a 5 minute spell on the hour to raise their hopes making it 4-2.

The game really opened up and further chances fell at both ends and when Willers went down inside the box, Hermitage was set to make it 5-2, however a fine save denied Invicta their fifth.

Invicta kept their discipline and shape and took a stronger grip on the game and sealed the victory when Mason curled the ball straight in from a corner to give Invicta their fifth different scorer of the game and two more valuable points.

Invicta worked hard for this win and once again showed the quality in the squad and determination throughout the team for the full 80 minutes of the game.

Next week, Invicta travel to Coulsdon Athletic in a the league.

League table